Flying High

Taya got a remote control helicopter for Christmas.  We didn't think it would be so hard to fly, but when Bart tried to fly he realized it would be a while before Taya would never to do it.

After a few lessons from daddy...

she's a pro!!!

Bad Habit

When Bart started dating me, he learned one of my bad habits.  I like to eat out of the ice cream container.

 Looks like the bad habit is catching on!

I don't know what is worse...all of us eating out of the container, or that we have three different types of ice creams in our household!

More Christmas

I was going through all of the pictures from Christmas, I realized I still didn't tell you about the great gifts the girls got from Grandma and Grandpa Brodersen.

 

 A new movie!

 Taya loves her new Dora activity book.

 Teagan also got an awesome animal sounds book, but she opened that up so fast I missed it.

Thanks for the gifts.  The girls have enjoyed them over and over again.

How do we say THANKS?

It's been an amazing two weeks.  2013 was a stressful year for our family as we had a lot going on.  All good things, but still stressful. Throughout the entire year, my parents have been by our side helping in every way they can.  It started Christmas 2012, when we told them we were building a new house.  While that was exciting, it meant we had to put our old house on the market ASAP.  They spent their holiday vacation packing up our old house and getting it ready for the market.  My parents made many, many trips down to watch the girls, move us into our new home, and then make our new home...HOME for us.  They have spent countless hours unpacking, cleaning, sprucing up...everything you can imagine they have done it for us and it's not even their home.  They have also helped us HUGE financially.  My parents have given so much to us throughout the years, and it has been such a blessing.  While we appreciate their generosity as it has helped us with everything we have today, what I can never thank them enough for is the time they spend with my girls.  The best gift my parents could give to me is their endless energy when it comes to Taya and Teagan.   My dad never gets tired reading books to the girls, my mom always says yes when the girls want to make something with her.  No matter how worn out they may be, when they see the girls....they are ready to play with them.  My girls adore their Grammy and Grampy.  So much so when they are around, they could care less about mommy and daddy.  Heck, Taya even wants them to put her to bed.  My parents could travel the world if they wanted to, but instead they decide to travel to see their grandchildren.  It warms my heart to know what a good relationship my girls have with their Grammy and Grampy.  After spending two weeks with us, you know they just want to get on the road and drive home.  Instead, the girls wanted to go fishing one last time.  So of course, off they went with Grammy and Grampy.

 Taya wanted Grampy's fishing pole.

 Teagan is obsessed with feeding the ducks.

 Grampy giving her some pointers.

 Teagan LOVES her Grammy.

Taya has been wanting to cast the line herself.  Grampy showed her a few times how to do it...check it out!

Now, Teagan wants to learn.

My next little fisherman.

We had two awesome weeks with Grammy and Grampy...so many memories that will last a lifetime.  There are no words to thank the two of you enough.  Your time, energy, patience, generosity...everything you give and do for us are all appreciated...but what we really LOVE is the TIME you invest.

Can't wait for the next adventure!

New Year's Day

I had to work on New Year's, but Bart was off so he had a Taya and Daddy day.  Taya got to pick where she wanted to go, and it was Marbles!

 Endless FUN!

 They even had a snow ball fight.

 Teagan stayed at home with Grammy and Grampy and got her nails and toes done.

 Plus, Grampy took her to feed the ducks.

Grampy said she ate more bread than she gave to the ducks.

Fun Visitor

My Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jim made a short stop at our house over the holiday's.  

 They gave my mom a money tree with 70 $1.00 bills for her 70th birthday!

 We wish they could have stayed longer as Taya really enjoyed spending time with them.  (Teagan was napping during their brief visit.)

 My Aunt Sandy also made delicious reindeer cookies for us, but you don't see any as Taya ate them all!!!

New Year's Eve

Good-bye to 2013.  It's been a great year for us as we sold a house, built a house, and are now settled into our dream home.  Moving into our new neighborhood has been one of the best decisions we've made.  Bart and I have both had successful years at work, and our girls had a blast in 2013 as we had many fun family adventures.  To celebrate the last day of 2013, we had a Taya & mommy day.  Taya had her heart set on ice skating.  So off we went.

  

 She didn't realize how slippery it would be, but she still had a ball.

Downtown Raleigh was buzzing getting ready for the night time festivities so we checked out the big acorn that they drop at midnight.  We ran into one of my co-workers getting ready to do a live shot at noon.

 After ice skating, Taya wanted to go to her favorite store...the Disney Store.  Yes, we just celebrated Christmas, but we still bought a little something.  

 Teagan had a Grammy & Grampy day at home.  They took long walks, and blew lots of bubbles.

 At night, we went to a New Year's Eve Party!!!!  (Bart took the picture that's the only reason why he's not in it.)

The party got a little wild when the tequila came out!  (Bart missed all of the fun as he had to take tired Teagan home.)